Marks & Spencer to anchor Morpeth town centre scheme

The Marks & Spencer store will be located in a prime location and will occupy the largest single store in the development. M&S opened a Simply Food store in Morpeth in 2006, and the relocation to premises in the Sanderson Arcade will allow it to provide a wider choice for customers across its entire range including womenswear, menswear, beauty, lingerie, food and homeware.

Work will start on site in Spring 2008 on the £32 million Morpeth town centre redevelopment which will deliver 85,000 sq ft of new retail space, 17,000 sq ft of office space, a new transport interchange, town centre car park, and an extension to the adjacent Morrisons supermarket. A new long stay car park has already been constructed and surrounding highways improvements made. Statutory diversions required for the main scheme are currently underway. Mark Dransfield, Managing Director of Dransfield Properties, said: "Having Marks & Spencer as anchor tenant in the Sanderson Arcade will help to attract shoppers from miles around and put Morpeth firmly on the map as a quality retail destination. We're delighted that the first national retailer to sign up for the Sanderson Arcade is one of the UK's favourite household names and look forward to announcing further tenants over the next few months."